tropism

[ troh-piz-uh m ]

/ ˈtroʊ pɪz əm /

noun Biology.

an orientation of an organism to an external stimulus, as light, especially by growth rather than by movement.

Nearby words

tropicalize, tropically, tropicbird, tropics, tropine, tropism, tropismatic, tropistic, tropo-, tropocollagen, tropologic

Origin of tropism

First recorded in 1895–1900; independent use of -tropism

Related forms

tro·pis·mat·ic

[troh-piz-mat-ik] /ˌtroʊ pɪzˈmæt ɪk/, adjectivetro·pis·tic

[troh-pis-tik] /troʊˈpɪs tɪk/, adjective

Definition for tropism (2 of 2)

-tropism

variant of -tropy.

Origin of -tropism

see origin at -tropy, -ism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tropism

Still, Cuccinelli has shown his own tropism toward the kindness of strangers.
The It Factor in Virginia’s Governor’s Race: Modernity|Lloyd Green|July 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Driesch has found that a tropism underlies the arrangement of the skeleton in the pluteus larvae of the sea-urchin.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others
As a type of human behavior it may be explained, like the attraction of the flame for the moth, as a sort of tropism.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology|Robert E. Park
We shall in the succeeding series of papers deal with the subject of tropism in general.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

The object of the tropism is to keep the males and females in the nest until swarming time, and then to get them out.
Natural Wonders|Edwin Tenney Brewster
The workers, on the other hand, who have to be in and out of the nest about their business, do not have this tropism.
Natural Wonders|Edwin Tenney Brewster

British Dictionary definitions for tropism (1 of 2)

tropism

/ (ˈtrəʊpɪzəm) /

noun

the response of an organism, esp a plant, to an external stimulus by growth in a direction determined by the stimulus

Derived Forms

tropismatic, adjectivetropistic (trəʊˈpɪstɪk), adjective

Word Origin for tropism

from Greek tropos a turn

British Dictionary definitions for tropism (2 of 2)

-tropism

-tropy

n combining form

indicating a tendency to turn or develop in response to a certain stimulusphototropism

Word Origin for -tropism

from Greek tropos a turn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for tropism (1 of 2)

tropism

[ trō′pĭz′əm ]

n.

The turning or bending movement of a living organism or part toward or away from an external stimulus, such as light, heat, or gravity.

Related forms

tro′pic, tro•pis′tic adj.

Medicine definitions for tropism (2 of 2)

-tropism

suff.

Tropism:stereotropism.

Science definitions for tropism

tropism

[ trō′pĭz′əm ]

The growth or movement of a living organism or anatomical structure toward or away from an external stimulus, such as light, heat, or gravity. See also geotropism hydrotropism phototropism.

Related forms

tropistic adjective